650-mile Uber ride from DFW to Nashville might be farthest ever

"We had a few stops on the way, " he said. "They spoke enough broken English we could converse. They were in a good mood. They were upset they didn't have their bags and didn't get the flight, but other than that it was a fun ride."

Author:
Todd Unger

Published:
11:25 PM CDT June 6, 2017

Updated:
11:25 PM CDT June 6, 2017

DFW AIRPORT -- The ping came in at about 11:45 p.m. on Sunday night to Uber driver Brent Pfieffer's cell phone.

Moments later, the part-time Uber operator got an urgent call from the would-be customer requesting a trip that seemed too strange to be true.

"They said, 'I have an issue here. I need these people delivered to Nashville, Tennessee.' You're kidding, right?" Pfieffer told WFAA in an interview on Monday.

It was no joke.

Three Chinese business folks had just arrived from Hong Kong early Sunday afternoon, only to have their connecting flight to Nashville repeatedly delayed, and ultimately canceled.

"The next flight they could get on wasn't until Monday afternoon," said Pfieffer. "And they had a business meeting at noon Monday they had to be at."

Pfieffer loaded the group into his black Ford Expedition at the airport and spent the next 11.5 hours high-tailing it more than 650 miles to Nashville.

"We had a few stops on the way," he said. "They spoke enough broken English we could converse. They were in a good mood. They were upset they didn't have their bags and didn't get the flight, but other than that it was a fun ride."

The driver is still waiting for Uber to fully process the fare because it's so high. An Uber XL estimate from DFW International Airport to Nashville usually runs more than $1,100. Pfieffer says that's about what the group expected to pay.

"My portion of it will be close to $800. I also negotiated with the people for gas money, so it was a profitable day," he said, laughing.

An Uber spokeswoman told WFAA they don't keep data on their longest or farthest rides, but that they did have a fare from DFW to Nashville late Sunday night.

On Tuesday, Pfieffer received his receipt from Uber for his long transport - $774.70, though he adds he was also compensated for his return trip.

And he learned a little more about his Chinese passengers.

The bedding company "Mattress Firm" saw our original story on Monday night and contacted Pfieffer to let him know his passengers work in the bedding industry and had traveled to Tennessee to see a new mattress model before it shipped to stores.

The Houston-based retailer said it will deliver one of the new state of the art mattresses to Pfieffer, to show its appreciation for his efforts.

"I would do it again," Pfieffer said from his Plano home Tuesday. "It's the unicorn ride, you hear about something like this but it sounds like a fable until it happens."

In December, reports surfaced of a driver taking a customer from Virginia to Brooklyn in New York City. That was largely believed to be the longest trip ever, although other drivers have since come forward with their own stories, according to Popular Mechanics.

None of the stories shared publicly top the 650+ miles and 11.5 hours of Brent's journey, though.